TEHRAN: Iran launched its first military exercise since the end of its 12-day war with Israel, state television reported Thursday, with navy vessels launching missiles at targets at sea in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean.
While such drills are routine in the Islamic Republic, the “Sustainable Power 1404” exercise comes as authorities in Iran are trying to project strength in the wake of a war that saw Israel destroy air defense systems and bomb nuclear facilities and other sites.
The state TV report said naval vessels would fire cruise missiles at targets and use drones over the open water. It did not immediately air any footage from the exercise.
Iran’s navy, estimated to have some 18,000 personnel, apparently avoided any major attack during the June war.
The navy, based out of the port city of Bandar Abbas, patrols the Gulf of Oman, the Indian Ocean and the Caspian Sea, and broadly leaves the Arabian Gulf and its narrow mouth, the Strait of Hormuz, to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
The Guard’s naval forces are known for seizures of Western vessels during the breakdown of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, as well as closely shadowing passing US Navy vessels coming into the region.
Since the end of the war, Iran has increasingly insisted that it is ready to counter any future Israeli attack.
Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh said that the country has equipped its forces with new missile, in remarks reported Wednesday by the state-run IRNA news agency. “In response to any potential enemy adventurism, our forces are prepared to use these new missiles effectively.”
Meanwhile, Iran has suspended its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, which has been monitoring its nuclear sites as Tehran enriched uranium to near weapons-grade levels amid the tensions.
France, Germany and the United Kingdom, the European parties to Iran’s nuclear deal, have warned that if Tehran doesn’t reach a “satisfactory solution” to its dispute with the IAEA by Aug. 31, they will trigger a “snapback” reimposition of all United Nations sanctions on it previously lifted by the accord.
While already stung by American sanctions since 2018, analysts warn that renewed UN sanctions could further weaken the country’s ailing economy.
Iran’s navy launches country’s first military drill since 12-day war with Israel
https://arab.news/4246b
Iran’s navy launches country’s first military drill since 12-day war with Israel
- The exercise, called “Sustainable Power 1404,” aims to project strength after Israel destroyed air defense systems and bombed nuclear facilities
Baghdad traders protest new customs tariffs
- The demonstrators gathered outside the General Customs Directorate on Sunday, chanting slogans against corruption and rejecting the new fees
BAGHDAD: Hundreds of traders and owners of customs clearance companies protested in central Baghdad on Sunday, demanding that Iraq’s government reverse recently imposed customs tariffs they say have sharply increased their costs and disrupted trade.
The new tariffs that took effect on Jan. 1 were imposed to reduce the country’s debt and reliance on oil revenues, as oil prices have fallen.
Iraq faces a debt of more than 90 trillion Iraqi dinars ($69 billion) — and a state budget that remains reliant on oil for about 90 percent of revenues, despite attempts to diversify.
But traders say the new tariffs — in some cases as high as 30 percent — have placed an unfair burden on them. Opponents have filed a lawsuit aiming to reduce the decision, which Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court is set to rule on Wednesday.
The demonstrators gathered outside the General Customs Directorate on Sunday, chanting slogans against corruption and rejecting the new fees.
“We used to pay about 3 million dinars per container, but now in some cases they ask for up to 14 million,” said Haider Al-Safi, a transport and customs clearance company owner.
“Even infant milk fees rose from about 495,000 dinars to nearly 3 million.”
He said that the new tariffs have caused a backlog of goods at the Umm Qasr port in southern Iraq and added that electric vehicles, previously exempt from customs duties, are now subject to a 15 percent fee.
“The main victim is the citizen with limited income, and government employee whose salary barely covers his daily living, those who have to pay rent, and have children with school expenses — they all will be affected by the market,” said Mohammed Samir, a wholesale trader from Baghdad.
Protesters also accused influential groups of facilitating the release of goods in exchange for lower unofficial payments, calling it widespread corruption.
Many traders, they said, are now considering routing their imports through the Kurdistan region, where fees are lower.
The protests coincided with a nationwide strike by shop owners, who closed markets and stores in several parts of Baghdad to oppose the tariff increase.
In major commercial districts, shops remained shut and hung up banners reading “Customs fees are killing citizens.”
